Kaiminani Loop
Distance: 18.69 km
Elevation Gain: 480 m
Elevation Loss: 480 m
Difficulty:
510 (Moderate)
FIETS Index: 2.27 FIETS
Avg Grade: 7.87 %
Max cat climb: 2
Min elevation: 30 m
Max elevation: 501 m
Ride Category:
Climb
The Kaiminani loop links two highways above Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii, USA: the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway on the coast and the Mamalahoa Highway on the slopes of Hualalai. The Queen K, completed in 1975, is the road of the IRONMAN World Championship, held in Kona since 1981. The race’s bike course runs north along the Queen K to Hawi and back, and the run goes out along the same road to the Natural Energy Laboratory. On race day the Queen K is closed, and traffic is sent along Kaiminani Drive and the Mamalahoa Highway, the other roads of this loop.
The ride climbs Kaiminani Drive straight up the lower slopes of Hualalai, 5.9 km at an average of 7.6%, with one kilometre at almost 13%. At the top it meets the Mamalahoa Highway, the original road between Kona and Hilo, numbered Highway 19 until 1975. The highway is named after a decree of King Kamehameha I, the Law of the Splintered Paddle, which says that every elderly person, woman and child may lie by the roadside in safety. The loop turns south and drops down Hina Lani Street, then comes back north on the Queen K, part of the IRONMAN course. It passes the entrance to the Natural Energy Laboratory on the way back to the start at Kaiminani Drive.
